


A Good Reporter

by fabulously_frenzied



Series: ML Oneshots [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Chameleon Salt, Episode: s03 Caméléon | Chameleon, I am SO glad I’m not the only one upset about this, Identity Reveal, Oneshot, Saltinette, finally making a contribution here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2020-05-14 13:12:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19274029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fabulously_frenzied/pseuds/fabulously_frenzied
Summary: A good reporter always verifies her sources. Alya discovers her “best” friend just might be overqualified.





	A Good Reporter

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been high on Chameleon salt lately and had the idea for this before falling asleep last night. 
> 
> Short and sweet. (or should I say, short and salty?)

A Good Reporter

 

In the midst of all her classmates captivated by Lila’s tall tales, Marinette hopes she can at least talk some sense into Alya and Nino. They wouldn’t turn on her, right? She and Nino have been friends for years, and she’s spent countless hours on BFF endeavors with Alya. What reason would they have to trust a stranger with a sliver tongue over her?

Her frustrations triple when she finishes recounting to her friends why she’s suspicious of Lila and is met with disgust and skepticism. 

“Wait, you eavesdropped on Lila and Adrien? That’s not cool!”

“A good reporter always verifies her sources. Can you _prove_ she doesn’t actually know Ladybug?”

Marinette can’t believe it. Her closest friends have become the biggest hypocrites yet! And the _nerve_ of Alya to ask her for proof when she herself hadn’t even checked Lila’s story with her idol’s own account! She runs the Ladyblog, the biggest resource on all things Ladybug and Chat Noir, and has probably the closest connection to Ladybug of any civilian, and she doesn’t even bother asking the hero herself? 

Their reactions to her story are completely unjustified. Everyone’s sudden change in behavior toward Marinette is _completely, entirely unjustified!_ She's had enough! She could take it when Lila's lies were little more than silly stories. Her idiot classmates want to believe she's been on world trips and met celebrities? Fine. They can go right ahead. But those stories had _nothing_ to do with the choice they all made to turn their backs on a longtime classmate, friend, and all-around angel on earth in favor of a cheating, lying stanger? They've gone too far, and she can't stand it anymore. Won't. She won't. And as much as she values secrecy for the sake of protecting her friends (of what real friends she has left) and family, maybe if they won’t listen to their “everyday Ladybug..." Bah. They bestow her with that title and then betray her for an imposter. But Marinette's no impostor. She's the real deal, genuine and true, everything Lila isn't, and she's about to make them wish Hawkmoth were the worst of their nightmares. 

“Okay. Fine. You know what?” she asks them, a fire in her voice that wasn't there before. They shift uncomfortably at the change in her tone and the unsettling glint in her eyes, and Nino instinctively takes Alya's hand in his. “I can verify my sources, which is more than you’ve done,” adding a withering glare at her best friend, who furrows her brows and frowns deeper. 

“And how, exactly, are you go—“

“Tikki, spots on!”

She’s surrounded by sparkling pink light, and now everyone’s attention is on her. Gasps and cries of confusion fill the room. Everyone backs away from Lila's table, unsure whether to inch forward or run while they still can. Murmurs ask what's going on, and everyone with a partner (like in the seating arrangement that booted Marinette to the back without even asking her if she was okay with that) reaches for them, some to protect and some to find protection. Even Chloé, who's been rolling her eyes this entire time at Lila's antics, scoots closer to Sabrina, who did manage to separate herself from the new manipulative overlord to her former one. Now only Lila is left without anyone at her side, and she sneers at the change in focus. Why wasn’t anyone listening to her anymore? What else could be so important that—

 _Oh._

All Alya and Nino can do is gape. Words fail as Paris’s beloved hero stands before them, staring into them with the utmost anger and disappointment. The halogen lights buzz softly on the ceiling, harmonizing with the gentle humming of the kitchen equipment and distant chatter of students in the halls, oblivious to the events taking place in this room. Nobody dares say anything. 

“Is this enough proof for you, Alya?”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey frenz! I want to say I REALLY appreciate all of your support and feedback - it makes writing that much more enjoyable. I wasn't expecting this fic to get so popular, so I've decided to create a secondary blog on tumblr so you all can find me there, too! Just like here, the user is fabulously-frenzied (tumblr doesn't like underscores), and if you're too lazy to go and look me up yourself, hopefully the link should work [ here!](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/fabulously-frenzied)  
> Happy reading! Hope to see some of you there :)


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